Masquerade
by Nyx'sBlackRose
Summary: 'Paper faces on parade. Masquerade; you can fool any friend who ever knew you.' Halloween oneshot.


Hi, guys! I know I haven't updated Yugi's Twin Sister for a while, and I promise I'll try to soon. I've put it off to work on this oneshot because A, I love Halloween, and 2, I've wanted to do a masquerade dance story for Halloween for the longest time, and I thought this would be the best time to post it. I hope you all enjoy it! Btw, it takes place in between Battle City and the Doma season. Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or anything from Phantom.

* * *

_Masquerade_

_Paper faces on parade_

_Masquerade_

_Hide your face_

_So the world will never find you_

_(Phantom of the Opera-Masquerade lyrics)_

* * *

Tori sighed and nervously played with the black lace-trimmed red mask over the upper half of her face. Cali swatted at her sister's hand.

"Sis, calm down, you look great," Cali chided, straightening the mask.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? I know Mokuba invited us, but Kaiba-" Tori started to say.

"Can kiss our masks. You know he can't change Mokuba's mind when the kid gets an idea," Cali retorted. She grabbed her sister's hand and dragged her up the steps to the entrance of Kaiba Manor. She took a minute to smooth down the skirt of her purple and black harlequin dress and adjusted her matching mask before turning her attention to her sister's blood red dress and black lace cape.

"We'll be fine," she said as she straightened the cape. "Besides, the guys are waiting for us. You don't wanna let them and big bro down, do you?"

Tori shook her head, her red bangs falling into her face, which Cali straightened in annoyance.

"Then let's go," she said, giving her sister a little push to the door. Tori glared at her before knocking on the door. A servant in a black suit and matching mask opened it and bowed to them.

"Welcome to the party, ladies," he said as they entered. Tori's eyes widened in surprise as she took everything in; there were black and orange banners and decorations hanging everywhere, including a few carved pumpkins and gauzy spiderwebs on and along the banisters of a long flight of stairs in the back of the room. There wasn't one set of people in the room with matching costumes, and they blended together in the golden glow of a great chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling.

A pair by the wall to her right caught her eye, and she nudged her sister. "Cal, I think that's them,"

Cali looked over, squinting a little before nodding in agreement. "That's them, all right. Let's go," she grabbed her sister's hand and they made their way through the crowd to their brother and friends.

Their brother spotted them first and waved to them; he was dressed as a magician(if you've seen Yugi duel Arkana in Battle City, he's dressed like Arkana, but a purple and black suit and mask instead).

"Hey, guys," he greeted them. "What took you so long?"

Tori made a face. "Cal couldn't decide what to do with her makeup."

Cali pouted at her. "Excuse me for trying to look cool," she grumbled.

"You look great, Cali," Tea complimented her. Tea herself wore a blue dress and mask that had silver swirling designs on them.

Cali beamed. "Thanks, Tea. Where're the guys?"

Tea laughed and nodded to the buffet table. "Joey's over there, and you can see Mai trying to drag him away. Tristan and Serenity are on the dance floor," she nodded towards the center of the room, "and Duke and Ryo are somewhere around here; Mokuba's doing the meet and greet thing."

Tori looked over at the buffet table, and bit her lip to keep from laughing as Joey shoveled food into his mouth.

"He acts like he hasn't eaten in weeks," Cali sighed, sweatdropping.

"I'm surprised Mai talked him into wearing a suit," Yugi said, taking in Joey's costume: a black suit, green dress shirt, and matching green mask.

"Same here," Tori nodded, impressed. "If she could make Joey come in a suit, she's gotta be a miracle worker."

"I'd say she's more of a fairy godmother tonight," Tea answered drily, nodding to Mai's gold and green dress, mask, and wings.

"True, true," Cali giggled.

Yugi waved to a couple on the edge of the dance floor; Tori looked closer and realized it was Tristan and Serenity. Tristan saluted, and Serenity waved back; Serenity looked angelic in her white dress and mask, and Tristan looked comical in his mad scientist outfit and goggles.

Cali grinned. "Yo, Tris, what happened? Did Frankie cancel on you?" she called to him as they came closer. Serenity tried to hide her laughs; Tristan made a face at her.

"Bite me, Cal!" he retorted.

"Not even if I was a vampire," Cali shot back. Tristan scowled, and Serenity tried to calm him down as they disappeared back into the throng of dancers.

Cali chuckled to herself. "Not a bad comeback, if I do say so myself." She turned to the others. "I'm gonna try to find Duke and Ryo, k? Say hi to Mokuba for me if you see him before I do!"

Yugi, Tori, and Tea nodded as Cali melted into the costumed crowd.

"Do you wanna dance, Tea?" Yugi asked the brunette shyly. Tea looked over to Tori, who was quick to wave them off.

"You guys go ahead," she told them. "I'll just hang here by myself for a bit."

Yugi nodded gratefully to his twin and he and Tea joined the other couples on the dance floor. Tori smiled back, and quickly lost sight of her brother and friend in the sea of masks. After another few minutes of trying to spot them, she gave up and observed the dancer's costumes, admiring some, laughing at others, and swaying slightly in time to the music flowing through the room from a minstrel's balcony on the second floor.

"Excuse me, miss; would you care to dance?" A voice broke her out of her thoughts; she turned to look at the speaker, and started slightly in surprise. The speaker was a man, dressed in an impeccable white suit and matching mask that revealed nothing of the upper half of his face but his incredibly blue eyes.

She pointed to herself in surprise, and he nodded. "I-if you don't mind, I'd like that," she stuttered slightly in embarrassment. "But I have to warn you, I'm a little clumsy."

The man smiled at her and bowed before taking her hands. "Don't worry, I'll keep you from falling," he said before gently pulling her into the crowd of dancers, placing a hand on her waist, keeping the other in his other hand. Tori blushed slightly as she placed a light hand on the man's shoulder.

_Who is this guy?_ She asked herself as he carefully lead her through the other dancers, gently spinning her every so often as a break from the normal dance steps. She twirled past Cali at one point, who stared at her in shock as she went by.

_Who the hell is that guy?!_ She asked enviously. Tori smiled at her and shrugged.

_I don't have a clue._ She waved to Duke, who stood beside Cali and watched her and her dance partner with surprise; Duke had gone a more traditional route with his costume, dressing as a vampire in a black suit and mask, with the traditional cape and fangs.

* * *

They danced together for the rest of the night to song after song, spinning in and out of the crowd now and again; as the last song ended, Tori's partner smiled and bowed to her before gently taking her chin in his hands.

"It was a pleasure, Ms. Muto," he said, gently kissing placing a kiss on her lips.

Tori watched him with wide eyes and a red face as he disappeared into the crowd; she tried to spot him, but had no luck. A few minutes later, Cali found her and dragged her outside, where she immediately began pelting her with questions.

"Who was he? Did he tell you? Did you dance with him the whole night? Did he know who you were? You are so much luckier than I am!" Cali groaned in complaint.

Tori just pressed her hand to her mouth and smiled. "C'mon, the guys are waiting for us," she told Cali.

They started walking down the steps, Cali complaining all the way down.

* * *

Inside the Kaiba Mansion, a familiar figure stood at a second-story window, watching the costumed guests leave. A knock sounded at the door, causing the figure to turn.

"Come in."

The door opened, and Mokuba stomped in, pausing to toss his mask and jacket onto a nearby chair over a spotless white jacket.

"I hate meeting and greeting businesspeople," he groaned, flopping down into a couch in front of the figure. He sank into the cushions and looked up at the figure.

"I didn't see you all night," he said. "Where were you, Seto?"

Kaiba shrugged innocently, turning back to the window in time to watch Yugi and the others make their way down the steps.

"Just dancing, Mokuba," he replied, smiling and slipping off his mask as the group passed under the window, eyes lingering on Tori as she and her friends disappeared from view.

* * *

Well, that's that. I hope all of you enjoyed it; again, I promise to update Yugi's Twin Sister soon. Please R+R, and no flames, please!


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